I am a German journalist based in Israel, currently writing for the "Jüdische Allgemein" an analysis on whether with the latest UN decision, Israel might loose its right to the Dead Sea scrolls, which Rhonda Spivak wrote about in the Times of Israel. I am now trying to get in touch with Rhonda for an interview. Any chance you can help?

There is no reason for Israel to agree to cede that area, which includes the holy sites, and which would facilitate terrorism against Jewish Jerusalem residents. I wish the U.S. would move its embassy to the eastern part of Jerusalem.

Richard Shulman

Correction

Hi Rhonda ...
Thanks, as usual, for your latest edition. Just one correction: You
refer to last month's gathering in front of the Rady Jewish Community
Center as an "anti-Israel demonstration." It was nothing of the sort. It
was an event to commemorate the death of some 2000 Palestinians at the
hands of the twelfth most power military in the world, the most powerful
military in the region, nuclear-armed Israel. By labeling the gathering
"anti-Israel," you are suggesting that Palestinian lives are worthless.
Certainly not worth commemorating.
Of course, I realize that any gathering of this sort is automatically
labeled "anti-Israel." Would you refer to some protest against, say,
Saudi Arabia's assault on Yemen as "anti-Saudi"? Or a protest against
the US's participation in the air war in Syria as "anti-American"? I
don't think you would. Obviously, any criticism of Israeli government
actions -- other than, say, policies linked to the high price of cottage
cheese -- is reflexively labeled "anti-Israel." Dishonest language of
this sort very much stifles debate about Israel's actions -- debate Jews
such as myself deem critical. The future of the "Jewish State" -- for
those who care -- hangs in the balance.
Regards ...
David Kattenburg
www.greenplanetmonitor.net

A great column on Sayad Kashua

July 1, 2016

A great column on Kashua, one of the best I have read on the Israeli/Palestinian situation. Kashua supposedly is a moderate Palestinian, Israeli or otherwise. Imagine what the others think and would do if they had the chance. A two-state solution? Not now, not in the near future, maybe not in the distant future.

Jack Mennis, Pittsburgh

Jewish Community Alert: York University Faculty Association Executive Endorses Divestment

Toronto - 2.17.16: Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is issuing a Jewish Community Alert cautioning Jewish students from choosing to attend York University, should the union's Stewards' Council support the union executive's endorsement of boycott initiatives aligned with discrimination against Israel and the Jewish people.

This Alert comes on the heels of Friday's endorsement by the Executive of the York University Faculty Association (YUFA) of '#YUDivest'- a cover for the anti-semitic and discriminatory Boycott Divestment and Sanction campaign against the Jewish people. The campaign is initiated by Students against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) - an organization known for its anti-semitic and anti-Israel positions.

In a comprehensive pre-vote letter to YUFA President Richard Wellen, FSWC President and CEO Avi Benlolo encouraged YUFA to consider the following:

The antisemitic nature of boycott campaigns against Jewish people;

YUFA's mission statement/Objects/Constitution may not allow for endorsement of boycotts under union business;

YUFA may be voiding its Equity statement on inclusivity of staff;

YUFA may be contravening the Ontario Human Rights Code, particularly by enhancing a poisoned environment and potential existence of discrimination, exclusion and a toxic environment.

YUFA may be contravening the Ontario Business Discriminatory Act.

According to Mr. Benlolo, "YUFA's 51-member Stewards' Council still has a chance to counter the Executive in a Council vote on March 4th. They may not realize that this boycott movement, couched in the language of human rights, is in reality a malicious campaign that targets and singles out the Jewish community as a collective; demonizes Israel and Israelis; applies unfair double standards to Israel at the exclusion of other nations in the Middle East; and rejects the legitimacy of Israel as the only Jewish State in the world - and therefore incites discrimination."

According to early reports, YUFA's Executive passed the resolution on February 12th and will bring the matter to Stewards' Council vote in March. In a subsequent note to Dr. Wellen, Mr. Benlolo asked, "why not simply submit a resolution that condemns investment in arms, rather than align York's entire faculty with the profoundly anti-semitic Students against Israeli Apartheid organization? What is gained by this, other than to sow further tension and hostility on campus?"

According to a faculty member who wishes to remain anonymous, "I might now feel uncomfortable participating in many university activities out of fear of being discriminated against just because I am Jewish and I support Israel. This endorsement could create an atmosphere at the university where I am afraid to walk around and interact with other community members, administrators, faculty and students in a free and fair manner without being judged or discriminated against. I publicly disavow any association with the YUFA Executive and its anti-semitic and discriminatory decision."

It is refreshing to note that a number of York University faculty, including Dr. Carl Ehrlich have been working overtime to oppose this resolution. In a memo to YUFA Stewards, Dr. Erlich wrote, "While I do not doubt the innocent motives of most of those who have signed on to the #YUDivest petition, the fact of the matter is that whether we include a disclaimer or not, the perception of our membership and of the community at large will be that YUFA and its associated faculty members support BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions)."

"As York's faculty Executive has now joined a censorship campaign against Israel and the Jewish people, coupled with the controversial cleansing of Israel mural hanging in the Student Center and reinforced by a climate which neglects student and faculty complaints of exclusion and a toxic environment, it is with great sadness that we are cautioning Jewish students from attending this university at the present time," said Mr. Benlolo.

"We have tried nearly everything to bring the university and its organs to recognize that we are concerned for the safety and security of its Jewish students and faculty. As a York Alumnus myself, I am disappointed with the Board of Governors and faculty. Never in my career in the Jewish community have I seen such a discriminating environment against the Jewish citizens of this city and country."

NOTE: In order to discourage York University faculty from supporting this anti-semitic campaign, FSWC will distribute this release and its letter to YUFA to as many faculty members as possible, to the media and to the community at large. FSWC encourages the community to reinforce this educational campaign by contacting York University faculty.

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is a leading Canadian non-profit human rights foundation directly representing over 30,000 members. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and its widely acclaimed new Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles, which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc

Re: EDITOR'S REPORT FROM THE IMPERIAL HOTEL-WHERE HITLER STAYED WHEN IN VIENNA AFTER THE ANSCHLUSS

Dear Sir,

I very much enjoyed your informative article about the Imperial Hotel in Vienna

I am a Toronto professor of journalism at Centennial College. I am currently writing a book about the Canadian Jews who were killed during the Second World War, and will be in Winnipeg next week to do some research and interviews.

I have not been able to find anyone yet who knew the two local men, Israel Freedman, or Yude Brownstone, and wonder if you could publicize my request?

Both are buried in Normandy.

Freedman's father was a butcher Peter. His mother was Molly.

My contact information is below, and my telephone number is 416 822 1503

For over a hundred years the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC) has supported immigrants and refugees coming to Canada during and after the displacements of war.

At this terrible time, hundreds of thousands of refugees are risking their lives to escape intolerable situations, only to face the horrors of flight, human smugglers, and insecurity, and are unable to meet their basic human needs.

We urge all Canadians to do what they can to ensure the safety, dignity and well-being of these traumatized people.

Protocols do not take precedence over saving lives. Contact your elected representatives and urge them to make a difference. Contact non-governmental organizations, and find out how you can help.

Spread awareness and encourage action.

We need to ensure that these refugees find a safe haven. We can be that haven.

"I am deeply disturbed by the appalling anti-Semitic graffiti in the Bathurst Manor area, which trivializes the Holocaust, denigrates the memory of Holocaust victims, and is highly offensive to the ethnically and religiously diverse members of the Conservative Party.

“Moreover, the timing of this odious graffiti is deplorable as Jews across Canada prepare for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement and holiest day in the Jewish calendar, during which time Jews strive for personal peace that will help make the world a better place for all.

“I am proud that under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper Canada has become a world leader in the global fight against anti-Semitism, and a re-elected Conservative Government will continue to combat anti-Semitism in all its forms.”

AIPAC STATEMENT ON THE ATTACK AT THE VILLAGE OF DUMA

AIPAC strongly condemns the arson attack that resulted in the death of the Palestinian infant Ali Saad Dawabsha and the serious injuries to the other members of his family in the village of Duma. We express our deep condolences to the family.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, along with major Israeli political and military leaders, have expressed their profound outrage over this murder and pledged to find the terrorist perpetrators and bring them to justice. The deliberate and heinous targeting and murder of innocents cannot be tolerated.

Terror - whatever the source - must be given no quarter.

Americans Increasingly Disapprove of Iran Deal

Major U.S. polls have overwhelmingly found that Americans are increasingly skeptical of the nuclear deal struck last month between the P5+1 and Iran. Nearly two-thirds of Americans lack confidence that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, and significant pluralities disapprove of the deal. Most polls also conclude that the majority of Americans believe Congress should reject the JCPOA. Even polls that pre-supposed the JCPOA would stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons found that most Americans believe that the deal will not work.

Results: More Americans disapprove than approve of the proposed deal and most are not confident in Iran’s ability to uphold the agreement.

Question: “From what you know, do you approve or disapprove of this agreement? [If necessary: The recent agreement on Iran’s nuclear program between Iran, the United States and other nations].”

48 percent of Americans familiar with the agreement disapprove of it, while 38 percent approve.

Question: “How much confidence do you have that Iran’s leaders will uphold their side of the agreement? A great deal of confidence, a fair amount of confidence, not too much confidence, or no confidence at all?”

73 percent of Americans familiar with the agreement are not confident that Iran’s leaders will uphold their commitments, while 26 percent are confident.

Results:More Americans than not believe Congress should reject the deal.

Question: “As you may know, the U.S. Congress must approve the agreement the United States and five other countries reached with Iran that is aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons before it can take effect. Do you think Congress should approve or reject the deal with Iran?”

52 percent of Americans believe that Congress should reject the deal with Iran, while 44 percent believe that Congress should approve it.

Results:More Americans than not believe Congress should reject the deal.

Question: “From what you have seen, read or heard about the Obama’s administration’s deal with Iran regarding their nuclear program, do you want your U.S. Senators and Congressman to vote Yes or No upon the deal between the Obama administration and Iran?”

45 percent of likely voters want their U.S. Senators and Congressman to vote no to the deal, while 29 percent want their U.S. Senators and Congressman to vote yes.

When provided with additional information about the agreement:

65 percent of likely voters want their U.S. Senators and Congressman to vote no to the deal, while 25 percent want their U.S. Senators and Congressman to vote yes.

Results:The longer the debate goes on about the Iran deal, the more Americans are increasingly in opposition to the deal.

Question: As you may know, an agreement has been reached between Iran and a group of six other nations, including the U.S. The agreement attempts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon by limiting Iran’s ability to produce nuclear material and allowing inspections into Iran’s nuclear sites in exchange for reducing certain economic sanctions that are currently in place. Do you support or oppose this agreement or do you not know enough to have an opinion?

Only 35 percent of respondents support the agreement while nearly two-thirds of respondents oppose the deal or have no opinion.

The NBC/WSJ poll also asked respondents in June if they supported the proposed deal. From June to July, support for the deal decreased from 36 percent to 35 percent, while during that same period the number of Americans opposing the deal increased from 17 percent to 33 percent.

Statement by Minister Nicholson on Swearing-In of 34th Government of Israel

The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the swearing-in of the new Israeli government:

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to congratulate Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the occasion of the swearing-in of Israel’s 34th government.

“Canada has a warm and long-standing friendship with Israel, which is based on a shared commitment to the principles of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

“Our government will continue to strongly support Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself, by itself. Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered this message to the Israeli people in his historic address before the Israeli Knesset in January 2014. We also continue to support a bilaterally negotiated two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians based on a commitment to peace and mutual security.

“I wish the Prime Minister and his cabinet success in their new term and offer our best wishes to the people of Israel.”

“Canada looks to the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the UN to be a strong and impartial proponent for improved human rights globally.

“It is therefore with profound disappointment that Canada notes, at the just-concluded 28th session of the HRC, that Council time was again taken up on resolutions specifically and unfairly targeting the State of Israel. Israel is a strong liberal democracy with which Canada stands shoulder to shoulder. Our shared respect for freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law is the basis of our close relationship.

“At a time when the world is confronted by so many egregious instances of human rights violations, Canada urges HRC voting members to focus resources and Council time on those country situations which truly warrant international scrutiny and deliberation.”

ISIS and other terror groups adept at using world-wide web to further their goals

Western countries face same cyber threats as Israel

Tel Aviv, March 25, 2015…For the past several years, on April 7, groups of extremist hackers have targeted Israeli government domains and companies. This year, in Operation-Israel 2015, they are threatening Israeli banks and military websites promising to carry out an “electronic Holocaust.”

The largest hacker group, AnonGhost, which is affiliated with the global hacker group Anonymous, is set to attack Israel for the third straight year. The group ostensibly conducts these cyber-attacks in order to avenge Israeli actions in Gaza. Link to Operation-Israel 2015 video uploaded to YouTube by Anonymous warning of the attack here.

“These groups call themselves anonymous, but in reality the Op-Israel hackers responsible for the actions are mostly from the Middle East, with connections to our local conflict, according to Daniel Cohen, a research associate at the Israel Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Cyber Warfare program. “The hackers are mostly Muslims from Gaza, Syria, Morocco and other countries in our region. As a group they generally oppose the establishment and are influenced by various radical Islamist and terrorist movements, who also drive them towards attacking Israel.”

The hackers usually upload Arabic songs and communicate directly to pro-Israeli visitors.

According to Col. Gabi Siboni, head of the INSS Cyber Security Program, “The terror challenges facing Israel and the West are not only physical, but cyber as well. Israel is confronting these threats from Shiite Hezbollah and from Sunni Hamas on a daily basis. They are sophisticated and becoming more so. There is no question that in due course, the United States and other Western countries will face the same threats as Israel from these groups as well as from ISIS, if they are not already. ISIS is particularly adept at using the world-wide web to further its goals. But it is not only terrorist groups that perpetuate cyber attacks, nations do so as well and the need for cyber-security responses are growing exponentially."

These types of issues and others will be discussed at the US-Israel Defensive Cyberspace Operations & Intelligence (DCOI) conference to be held April 27 – 28 in Washington, DC. The conference is an Israeli - American partnership which seeks to promote informed public debate on cyber-net security and international collaborations in the technological, intelligence and policy-making domains. Link to conference website here.

On April 7, Israel could expect to see attacks on Israeli government websites and various private sites. The attackers may release Israeli credit card details online, although the information will likely be probably be previously stolen and not on the day of the attack. Hackers may also try to attack users through e-mail messages or text messages to private cellular phones. According to Daniel Cohen, about a hundred hackers participated in the previous attacks.

The who support Op-Israel 2015 are capable of penetrating web applications like Drupal, Joomla and WordPress but there are some, albeit small in number within the Operation Israel hacking teams who are capable of performing advanced attacks on specific targets and inflicting real damage, financial and otherwise, said Cohen.

The INSS Cyber program experts suggest that organizations upgrade their servers, perform backups, never open emails from unfamiliar sources and monitor activities on their website. Private citizens should consider changing simple passwords to more complex ones and never open unidentified e-mails.

Please share with your community of educators and friends, with second and third Generation.

I am thrilled to be able to make this announcement, my book "Memory Is Our Home"

Published by ibidem- Verlag, academic press, April 2015. The following ISBNs were assigned to my book:

EU edition: 978 3 8382 0682 0, US edition: 978 3 8382 0702 5

My book, Memory is Our Home is written with the high school, college age reader in mind and beyond. Memory is Our home, is a rich, living document, a thirty-year account that reveals a vibrant life of Eastern European, twentieth-century Jewish history and culture. Based on my mother’s diary, her writings about Warsaw Poland during the years following WWI, in the interwar period in Warsaw, and the six long years of WWII, and how she was able to survive in Soviet Russia and Uzbekistan. Interwoven with her journals are stories she told to me throughout my life, as well as my own recollections as my family made a new life in the shadows of the Holocaust in Communist Poland after the war and into the late 1960s. By retelling this story I try to shed light on how the Holocaust trauma is transmitted to the next generation, the price my family paid when we said good-bye to the old world and the challenges we faced in America.

Transmitting the memory of the vibrant culture before the Holocaust is just as important just as the memory of the Holocaust, to combat ignorance and prejudice and sharing of cultures and knowledge of history.

States solidarity with Denmark in the face of terrorism and anti-Semitism in Copenhagen
February 15, 2015 - The Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement after speaking with Martin Lidegaard, Denmark’s Minister for Foreign ‎Affairs, following yesterday’s terror attacks:
“This afternoon, I spoke to my Danish counterpart, Martin Lidegaard, to express that Canada stands in solidarity with Denmark following these heinous attacks.
“I was saddened and angered to learn of yesterday’s acts of terrorism in Copenhagen, which involved a freedom of speech event and a Jewish synagogue, injuring five police officers and murdering two innocent civilians. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are sacred values that must be defended.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims of these cowardly attacks and I wish a speedy recovery to those injured.
“These horrible attacks are yet another tragic reminder that no country is immune to terrorism. Canada and its allies will not be intimidated. We will continue to stand in solidarity against terrorists who threaten the peace, freedom and democracy our countries so deeply value.”

New York, NY, January 22, 2015 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomed today’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) informal plenary session on the rise in anti-Semitic violence worldwide, noting the importance of the body’s “long overdue” recognition of the urgent need to address the increasingly tragic consequences of the rise of anti-Jewish animus around the world.

ADL underscored the importance of the session - particularly in the wake of the Paris Kosher supermarket terror incident and other recent attacks against Jews - as well as the sobering figures on global anti-Semitism. ADL’s recent polling in 100 countries found that 26 percent of adults surveyed across the globe, amounting to more than a billion people, harbor anti-Semitic attitudes.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

This U.N. special session on anti-Semitism was long overdue. In many respects, it is sad that it took the loss of Jewish lives and ongoing daily threats to Jews to bring about this meeting. Yet, it is entirely appropriate that the international body, founded in the shadow of the Holocaust, has recognized the urgency of this issue.

Our recent polling shows that more than a quarter of the world’s adult population is infected with anti-Semitism, so it is significant and telling that the U.N., which represents all countries, has finally turned a specific focus on anti-Semitism and recognized, in the words of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, that ‘The fight against anti-Semitism is inseparable from our wider quest for peaceful coexistence and human rights for all.’

As Ambassador Power eloquently stated in her remarks, ‘When the human rights of Jews are repressed, the rights of other religious and ethnic groups are often not far behind…Attacks on Jews are attacks on us all.’ We commend the leadership of the United States in helping to bring about this meeting, and welcome the backing of this important event by the 37 cosponsoring countries.

We hope the passionate and heartfelt speeches delivered during the session will resonate with the entire world. The true success of the meeting will be measured by the implementation of urgently needed serious and concrete actions to combat the tide of rising anti-Semitism.

The UNGA session was cosponsored by the 28 European Union counties, the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, Norway, Andorra, Rwanda, Panama and Uruguay. The morning session featured statements by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levy, Canadian Minister of Public Safety Steven Blaney, French State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir, German Minister for Europe Michael Roth, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, E.U. Head of Delegation and representatives from other member states. The afternoon session featured a panel discussion with leading international experts on anti-Semitism.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

Statement by Chairperson of Yesh Atid, Yair Lapid, at a Faction Meeting Today

Chairperson of Yesh Atid, Yair Lapid, delivered the following statement this afternoon at the beginning of a faction meeting in Tel Aviv:

In the past two years the people around this table woke up every morning and went to work. They worked to change the priorities in Israel. They worked to place the middle class and the weakest in society firmly in the center, so that the country would work for them and not for the members of the Likud Central Committee or special interest groups who make money at the expense of the citizens of Israel.

We didn't have enough time, and even though we made some mistakes we learnt from them and we managed to do a huge amount.

We filled a hole in the budget of 40 billion shekels and tackled the economic crisis left by Netanyahu, we brought down the size of his government to no more than 18 ministers and cancelled the unnecessary position of "Minister Without Portfolio." We passed the equal burden law, cut back on the allocations for yeshivot and struck off the law which funded schools even if they didn't teach core subjects. We brought to an end the corruption in the government companies and added billions of shekels from trapped profits and the black market. With those funds we created the school summer programs and saved thousands of shekels for tens of thousands of young families.

We put together the plan to assist Holocaust survivors with over a billion shekels, a plan that provides them with free medication and increases their benefits, but in essence it is a plan which allows them to live out the rest of their lives in dignity.

Together, we started a process to increase the supply of housing after prices increased by over 80% under Netanyahu. Last month, for the first time prices began to decrease, and now they're increasing again. Together, we prevented tax increases on the middle class in the last budget despite all the pressures.

In the past two years, Netanyahu did everything to delay these changes. Even now, he's trying to stop the most social budget presented here in years, a budget which increases the investment in education, health and welfare by over 10 billion shekels.

Netanyahu prevented us from granting 190,000 elderly people increased benefits which would help them break out of the cycle of poverty. He prevented us from granting young couples their only chance to own an apartment with a 200,000 shekel saving through the VAT exemption bill.

He prevented the public from receiving 4 billion shekels for the medical services to bring down the cost of health insurance, reduce waiting times and increase the basket of medicines through the public system.

He took away from the Israeli public the break-up of the water conglomerates, an additional 1,100 police officers and prison guards from the Internal Security ministry, the summer programs, the program to reduce class sizes and the psychometric exam reforms, the national plan to reduce the cost of living which will decrease banking fees, cut the cost of pensions and bring down the cost of food.

Even if he decided to go to elections, all Netanyahu had to do was wait one more month! A month, and the budget would have passed with everything that's important to the Israeli public. Why didn't he do it? Because he doesn't really care about the citizens of Israel. All he cares about is remaining in his job, with all the perks.

That's the bad news. The good news is that all this can be changed. All these programs are ready, the groundwork is behind us, the train is ready to depart a month after the elections. That's why we're here. That's why we'll cooperate – either before the elections or after them – with anyone who sits in the political center and wants to ensure the middle class and the weakest in society live in a society which cares about them, with a strong and growing economy, where the rules of the game are fair, where the priorities are right, where our international relations aren’t being destroyed every day.

Real change won't come from the left or the extreme right, real change can only come from the center. For six years Bibi has been holding Israel back but he won't stop the change Israel needs anymore.

For More Information Contact:

Yair Zivan

International Media Advisor for Yair Lapid and Yesh Atid

Phone: 0523450061

US CITIZENS WITH PASSPORTS IDENTIFYING ISRAEL AS PLACE OF BIRTH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IN A SPIRITED ORAL ARGUMENT ATTORNEY ALYZA LEWIN

URGES HIGH COURT TO ENFORCE LAW PERMITTING

US CITIZENS TO HAVE PASSPORTS IDENTIFYING

“ISRAEL” AS PLACE OF BIRTH

Adeptly fielding more than 50 questions in half an hour from Supreme Court Justices, Alyza D. Lewin presented the case for enforcement of a 2002 law that gives American citizens born in Jerusalem the right to list their place of birth in U.S. passports as “Israel.” She argued alternatively (1) that “what goes on a passport . . . does not amount to sovereign recognition” and (2) that if it is viewed as amounting to recognition, “Congress has the ability afterwards, upon deliberation, to decide if they disagree with [the President’s] recognition.”

The litigation was initiated by Lewin & Lewin on behalf of Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky, an American citizen born in Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem soon after the law was passed. His parents requested that he be issued a U.S. passport recording his place of birth as “Israel” as prescribed by Congress’ 2002 legislation, but the Department of State refused to do so on the ground that the law “interfered” with the President’s foreign-policy of not recognizing Jerusalem as being in Israel. Menachem became Lewin & Lewin’s youngest pro bono client when the lawsuit was filed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia in September 2003.

The District Judge first dismissed the case on the ground that Menachem lacked “standing” because he possessed a valid passport, and the precise place of birth did not affect the validity of the passport. After the Court of Appeals reversed that decision in 2006, the District Court dismissed the case again on the ground that the complaint raised a nonjusticiable “political question.” A majority of the Court of Appeals agreed with this ruling, but the Supreme Court reversed it in an 8-to-1 decision in 2012. The Court of Appeals then found Congress’ law unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court again agreed to review that decision.

Justice Kennedy suggested during the argument on November 3 that a contemporaneous statement by the State Department declaring that the place-of-birth designation “is not recognition” would resolve the concern that Congress was interfering with the President’s power of recognition. Chief Justice Roberts appeared later during the argument to agree with this suggestion. Justice Ginsburg asked Ms. Lewin whether the remainder of the statute, which dealt with Jerusalem as the “capital of Israel,” did not affect the constitutionality of the place-of-birth provision. Ms. Lewin replied that the constitutionality of the place-of-birth provision had to be “determined on its own,” and this provision merely gave “individuals a choice and does not confer formal recognition.”

Justice Breyer asked whether the Court did not have to defer to the statements of “foreign affairs experts in the State Department” who said that the place-of-birth designation of “Israel” encroaches on the President’s core recognition authority. Ms. Lewin replied that it was “a rather extreme position” to have the State Department’s “say-so . . . automatically . . . end the question or any review by any other branch.”

Justice Alito observed that the United States had recognized Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem by acknowledging the validity of an Israeli birth certificate for Menachem. Justice Kagan asked whether the 2002 law was not “selective” because it only allowed American citizens to say they were born in Israel but did not allow other self-identification for place-of-birth designations. Ms. Lewin replied that the 2002 law “was rectifying a misguided policy of the State Department” which allowed Palestinians born in Tel Aviv or Haifa to remove “Israel” from their passports and list only the city of birth. The law was designed to permit the reverse – designation of “Israel” by those who were born in Jerusalem and wanted it.

Ms. Lewin also noted in her argument that if Congress’ law is implemented, the passports of US citizens born in Jerusalem “would be indistinguishable from all the other passports of individuals born in Tel Aviv or Haifa or anywhere else in Israel. That passport would not, when shown, be making any kind of political statement.” That observation was repeated by Justice Scalia during the argument of Solicitor General Verrilli. Justice Scalia said that if the law is implemented, “All you know is that the person was born in Israel. It could have been anywhere in Israel.”

Israel's recent land grab in the West Bank is the largest in three decades and will only make the situation in the West Bank and Gaza even worse. Abbas has been a great friend to Israel and Israel pays him back by appropriating 990 acres of land in the West Bank. They will only cause Abbas to be further alienated from his own people. The Arab radicals will say " you see what happen to Abbas the Israelis just screwed him you can only deal with Israel by being with us Arab extremists."

Perhaps BiBi believes the US is so busy on so many other fronts in the world today that we have nothing to worry about . After putting Hamas in their place we are “golden,” the only country in the world seriously going after terrorists. But BiBi is wrong in his strategy. The enemies of Israel want examples to prove that Israel is unreasonable and secondly to prove there is point in negotiating with this bully. BiBi has just played into the enemies' hands. He might have won this recent battle with Hamus but his high-handed behaviour could cause us to lose the War!

We must show our enemies that we are firm but reasonable. Not that we want more and more of Palestinian land as the Arab extremist claim.This land is not that important that more lives of either side must be lost. We must stop focusing myopically on try to get your opponent to say you are right and I have always been wrong. This will never happen. In difficult deep rooted conflict the parties must look for the smallest amount of common ground and build on it every day! In doing so you are attempting your opponent to agree to act in ways that get you what you really need, even when the other party doesn't agree with you! This should be the prudent behaviour of Israel towards its opponents.

Surveys in North America and Western Europe among Jews by generation show that the younger you are as a Jew the less Israel means anything to you! One of the main results from these attitudinal studies are that younger Jews believe in more numbers than ever that the propaganda against Israel that it is in fact a bully is correct! Within the next 20 to 25 years the US foreign policy toward Israel is expected to greatly change toward Israel. Since, American Jews shall be so assimilated that they will not see any need for Israel to be treated as “special case”. Israel must stop managing its strategies in a bubble, and not considering the impact of its behaviour on its greatest supporters in the world -all of us Jews in North America.